Air Jordan 3 Retro OG 'True Blue'

The blue one in a red-and-black world

The Air Jordan 3 launched in 1988 in four colorways: White Cement, Black Cement, Fire Red and True Blue. It was Tinker Hatfield's first Air Jordan, sketched as early as July 26, 1987, and it introduced the Jumpman logo on the tongue, elephant-print overlays and a visible Nike Air unit. It sold for $100.

True Blue stood apart. Its accents on the sock liner, heel and midsole are a bright blue that has nothing to do with the Chicago Bulls' red and black. Hatfield designed the shoe during a crisis: Nike's lead Jordan designer Peter Moore and executive Rob Strasser had left in 1987, and Jordan was weighing other offers before the Air Jordan 3 helped keep him.

The shoe Jordan didn't wear

Jordan never wore True Blue in an NBA game for the Bulls. Several histories say his only known wear of the original that year came in an exhibition setting around the 1988 Olympic trials. Accounts of that game vary in detail, and no box score from it was found for this page.

In the 1987-88 season Jordan wore the Air Jordan 3 to his first league MVP award, averaging 35.0 points across 82 games, and he was also named Defensive Player of the Year. He wore White Cements to win the 1988 Slam Dunk Contest in Chicago and Black Cements to score 40 in that year's All-Star Game.

True Blue finally reached an NBA floor on Jordan's feet more than a decade later. He wore a retro version in 2001, after coming out of retirement to play for the Washington Wizards.

Retros and the 2016 remaster

After 1988, True Blue returned in 2001, in 2009 as a Europe-only release, and in 2011. Jordan Brand then pulled the Air Jordan 3 from regular rotation because of oversaturation, and more than five years passed before True Blue came back to retailers.

The 2016 pair was part of Jordan Brand's 'remastered' push toward original details. It released on Black Friday, November 25, 2016, at $220, in full family sizes from adult down to crib. Retailers said it would be as widespread a release as possible. The price matched other 'Nike Air' branded remastered retros that year, including the Air Jordan 4 released during All-Star Weekend.

A sixth True Blue release followed on July 18, 2026, at $230, built with a shape closer to the original, a darker elephant print and a slightly lighter blue.

How to identify the 2016 pair

Look for style code 854262-106 and the colorway White/Cement Grey-True Blue. The upper is remastered white tumbled leather with Cement elephant print on the toe and heel, true blue accents and touches of red. 'Nike Air' appears on the heel, and OG Nike branding runs on the outsole and sockliner.

Next to the 2026 pair, the 2016 version shows more of its red tongue lining, a lighter elephant print and a deeper blue. The 'Nike Air' heel separates it from the 2011 retro.

Why collectors care

True Blue completes the original Air Jordan 3 set. It belongs to the shoe that kept Jordan at Nike, yet it is the one original colorway with no Bulls game behind it, which gives it its own place among collectors.

The 2016 retro carried the colorway for nearly a decade, until the 2026 release, and was the version most collectors knew as the 'Nike Air' True Blue.

The numbers

Release date

November 25, 2016

Retail price

$220

Style code

854262-106

Colorway

White/Cement Grey-True Blue

Sizes

Full family sizes: adult, kids, preschool, toddler, crib

1987-88 season

82 games, 35.0 PPG; league MVP and Defensive Player of the Year

Production

No production figures have been published

Timeline

1. Jul 26, 1987

   Date given for Tinker Hatfield's design sketch of the Air Jordan 3.

2. 1988

   True Blue releases as one of four original Air Jordan 3 colorways.

3. 1988

   Jordan wears True Blues in an exhibition setting around the 1988 Olympic trials, according to several histories.

4. 2001

   First True Blue retro; Jordan wears a retro pair as a Washington Wizard.

5. 2009

   True Blue retro released in Europe only.

6. 2011

   True Blue retro.

7. Nov 25, 2016

   The 'Nike Air' True Blue, 854262-106, releases on Black Friday at $220.

8. Jul 18, 2026

   A sixth True Blue release arrives at $230.

The world in 2016

• Feb 13, 2016

  Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia dies at 79.

• Apr 21, 2016

  Prince dies at 57.

• Jun 3, 2016

  Muhammad Ali dies at 74.

• Jun 19, 2016

  The Cleveland Cavaliers win their first NBA title, beating Golden State in seven games.

• Nov 2, 2016

  The Chicago Cubs win the World Series, their first title since 1908.

• Nov 8, 2016

  Donald Trump is elected the 45th president of the United States.

Price record

This is an asking price, not a sale. It is what a seller wanted on the date shown. Asking prices often sit above what buyers pay, but an ask is not a ceiling: a sale can land on either side of it. It is not a value.

By reference price, Air Jordan 3 Retro OG 'True Blue' is number 84 of 100 in the sneakers entries of the FLOAT 100. 22 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (75 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• True Blue is the only original Air Jordan 3 colorway Jordan never wore in an NBA game for the Bulls.
• Jordan's first NBA wear of True Blue came in 2001, on a retro pair, as a Washington Wizard.
• The 2009 True Blue retro was sold only in Europe.
• Jordan Brand rested the Air Jordan 3 for years over oversaturation, so 2016's True Blue came after a gap of more than five years.
• The 2016 pair cost $220, more than twice the 1988 price of $100.